Pioneering Portsmouth augmented reality project can show the past and the future from the Spinnaker Tower

Spinnaker Tower and University of Portsmouth have joined up to create an experimental augmented reality app – Spinnaker AR. The university’s new £7m Centre for Creative and Immersive eXtended Realities (CCIXR) has designed the app as part of the eXRe: Enabling XR Enterprise project, a government-funded scheme to help organisations explore the business potential of XR technology.

The proof of concept app allows visitors to use an Android mobile device to view enhanced scenes from the tower’s main viewing deck.

The demo shows how the app could include reconstructed footage of the Tudor warship The Mary Rose, dogfighting planes battling over the sea during the Second World War, and even a speculative peek at what the city’s landscape may look like in the future.

Spinnaker AR also demonstrates how drone footage captured from the height of the viewing deck could be used to “fill in” the back wall of the tower, turning its 350-degree view into a 360-degree experience.

Spinnaker Tower general manager Tony Sammut said: ‘We are always excited to partner with institutions and organisations in the city, and were intrigued to hear about the opportunities available through developments in AR

technology.

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‘Although it’s at the concept stage at the moment, it’s been fascinating to collaborate with the University of Portsmouth and to see how AR could add a new layer to the ever-changing, 23-mile views visitors enjoy every day from our viewing decks.’

CCIXR’s business director Pippa Bostock said: ‘Visitor attractions face a constant challenge to attract new and returning customers, and XR technology offers so many possibilities to excite and engage visitors of all ages.

‘This app has so much potential for future development.’

Throughout 2022, the University of Portsmouth’s Centre for Creative & Immersive Extended Reality has been working with hundreds of businesses and organisations as part of the eXRe Project, supported by the government’s UK Community Renewal Fund.

It worked with the project’s six key partners – Spinnaker Tower, Victorious Festival, The Mary Rose Museum, The D-Day Story, Gosport Borough Council and Aspex – to see how AR technology can enhance the visitor experience and boost the number of people coming into the city.